Playing at the Beach

This seemed as good a time as any for all us to head to the beach for a little get-away for the weekend. It was supposed to be somewhat nice weather, and we looked forward to spending time with each other. As soon as Mommy got home on Friday, we packed up and headed out the door. Jillian and Bridget were excited and didn't want to waste any time getting there. We arrived at about 8:00 pm, but it was still light enough that the girls could play around before bed. One odd thing we noticed when we got there was a constant "chirping" sound coming from the fireplace that came and went. It wasn't long before we realized there was a bird nest in the chimney ... turned out, we would be hearing the chirping all weekend long.

On Saturday, we ate breakfast and immediately headed for the beach, since it was fairly warm and there was no wind. We started digging in the dry sand for awhile, and as the weather got better, we let the girls head for the water. They had a great time jumping waves. Jillian loved to see how far she could go out (much to Mommy's concern) while Bridget tried to keep up. We were out there for several hours before we started wearing down, so it was back to the cabin. The girls stripped down and got cleaned up in their respective buckets of warm water.

After a quick lunch, we packed up again and headed to the Astoria pool. Jillian was all over a kickboard, using it to swim everywhere, while Bridget clung to a rubber ball. Jillian finally decided to go down the big red slide with Daddy and loved it. Of course, Bridget had to do it, too, and loved it. The evening wound down with ice cream at Custard King, hot dogs and s'mores around the firepit, and a Strawberry Shortcake video.





On Sunday, we decided to make it an all-day-at-the-beach kind of day. So, right away in the morning after coffee and hot chocolate, we headed for the beach. Daddy spent several hours building a huge castle & moat complex, and the girls dug in the sand inside it. When Jillian wanted to get some dry sand for the castle, we headed with our buckets inland to scoop some up. When we turned back, there was a pre-teen girl standing in the complex with a shovel in hand, quickly tearing it all down ... and she tossed all of our beach toys out. Unbelievable. Eventually, we picked up our stuff and headed back to the cabin for lunch and nap.

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the beach to find our complex taken over by some other kids, so we built our own little castle. The girls spent much of their time playing the water and jumping waves. When they got chilled, we came back again, cleaned up and ate dinner, and relaxed with the Despicable Me video.

Monday was a quick clean-up and drive home for Jillian's swim lessons.

Little Fish

Jillian has made great strides at swimming lessons this past week. It all started on Tuesday, when the head instructor lady saw Jillian swimming on her back with her floaties on, powering through the water with some super kicks. She immediately went over and took off the floaties and had Jillian practice swimming on her back without any help (other than staying right next to her). Sweetie-Pie did a really good job at it, though she got a little panicked after a while and had to stop. The head instructor lady told Daddy that she was so very close to getting it.

So, then on Wednesday when Mommy was watching, the head instructor lady grabbed Jillian after just a few minutes into the lesson and put her into the next level! This meant NO floaties anymore! Mommy watched as Jillian was now swimming on her tummy and back all by herself (again, with just the instructors next to her). Sweetie-Pie was so proud of herself, and couldn't wait to tell everyone when she got home.

Daddy took Jillian to swim lessons on Thursday, and took a couple videos of the action as well.

Future Ballerina

Bridget just can't wait to do ballet, like big sister. When we grabbed a new ballet outfit for Jillian at the store, she insisted that Bridget get one, too. So, here's Bridget showing off her new outfit, and doing her ballet pose outside the Center (all we have to do is say "One leg, Bridget", and she shows off her pose). Bridget really wanted to join the ballet lessons today, and she even managed to escape us and run inside during the lesson. When Jillian saw her, and us chasing after, she yelled "Run, Bridget, Run!!!" Thanks for the help, Sweetie-Pie.

Ballet Lessons

Today was the first day of ballet lessons for Jillian. They're just a short 1-week course put on by the City, but Jillian loves going to them. Her teacher is Miss Elizabeth, and there are about 6 little girls in the class. We couldn't take any pictures of Jillian during the lesson, since adults aren't allowed inside (we could only watch through the door's windows). But, here's a picture of Jillian outside the Center, doing the first position ... along with Bridget doing the same.

Waiting for Church

Here's just a little photo of the girls sitting on the front steps with their puppies, waiting for church in the morning.

When we went to church, the girls lasted about 5 minutes into the service before Bridget started yelling (something about drawing with a pencil), so we rushed them to the nursery for playtime. For the past few months, Bridget has been very unsure about going to the nursery, throwing a crying fit when we left ... but now she loves it. Both girls run and scream happily on their way there.

Wiggles Concert

Jillian had the special treat of going to a Wiggles concert with Cousin Adam in Portland on Friday. It was a surprise for both of them, and the suspense had been building as we kept reminding them of their "big surprise" coming up. Mommy and Auntie Greta were the lucky ones to accompany them. It sounded like Adam rocked out the entire time, while Jillian slowly warmed and eventually got into it. This photo shows one of the highlights of the concert, when Murray Wiggle came into the stands to gather flowers for Dorothy the Dinosaur, and Adam got a big high-five from him. When Jillian was asked whether she also got a high-five, she responded "No, I was just showing him my spinner". The spinner-light-thingy was Jillian's prized possession from the concert.

Painting Fun

We got out the driveway painting set for the first time this year.  The girls painted all kinds of art on the driveway and then they asked if they could paint the jeep.  Tierney was supervising while eating her breakfast.  They thought painting the jeep was the greatest thing!  Then they also did the wagon that the jeep was pulling around. Bridget had the most fun stirring the paint in the tray or washing her brush in the water bucket.  I was very nervous since Rielee had on a white dress but she is much neater than the other two.  Here is a picture of Bridget when she got paint on her hand.  I just told her to wash it herself in the water bucket.



Tea with Ty

Ty came down asking for something to do so I sent him out to have tea with Jillian and Bridget.  The girls had a great time mixing up tea for Ty but Ty wasn't too sure about the concoctions they made. I think they put potato chips in the tea. Then he had lunch with the girls and read a story to Jillian before her nap.  They kept him busy. 

Lots of Bubbles

It was exciting having the girls back.  The dogs danced all around for a long time.  After breakfast the girls had a bath and it was super bubble time again.  To wash their hair I had to let the water out and still there was about 3 inches of bubbles.  They set a new record for staying in the bath.  I got the whole bathroom cleaned from top to bottom except for the tub.

Then Rielee came so we got out the bubble guns we got on the 4th.  One worked great and the other one was defective but the girls did a good job of sharing and taking turns with the one, trying to pop all the bubbles.  Meanwhile Bridget was happy again with her tea set.  I gave her some crackers and chips so when she dropped the plate and the dogs ate her chips, she said, "Dogs ate all chips."  Getting better at those sentences.  Then when I put her in her high chair and Jillian wasn't in yet, Bridget said, "Max and Ruby."  That's the cartoon Jillian asks for during breakfast so Bridget let us know what the routine is.

Train Travelers

Here's a photo of Jillian and Bridget riding on the Amtrak train to North Dakota. Mommy said that the girls loved the ride there and back, and did a nice job of playing and staying busy (with only a couple meltdowns). The trip also went very well. Jillian and Bridget played themselves to exhaustion each and every day with all of their cousins. There won't be a whole lot more details about the trip provided (since Mommy is too tired to type), but it's safe to say that the girls will be looking forward to going back again.

Rocks in North Dakota

This photo came from North Dakota courtesy of Auntie Greta's phone. It shows two flower rocks (Jillian and Bridget) and an orange rock (Cousin Adam) on the bathroom floor of the hotel that Uncle Richard was staying in. Those are some well-traveled rocks!

Sleepover

It was the first sleepover in a long time and included Bridget.  Papa sat with Bridget to get her to sleep in her crib in the computer room.  Jillian got to sleep in Grannie's closet (walk in closet and sewing room).  At first she didn't settle down, so the next time I told her she would have to be quiet and not move around so Sophie could sleep with her.  Sophie likes to snuggle, so she snuggled right up next to Jillian and they fell asleep that way-until about 5 AM when Jillian woke up, so I put Sophie in her cage and laid down by Jillian and she went back to sleep right away.  Then they both slept in until about 8 AM.

After baths I called Rielee and she could come play, so it made it a perfect day.  Then Jillian got to go to Rielee's and play while Bridget took her nap.  All Jillian could talk about the last two days was her trip to North Dakota on the train.  They left this afternoon.

This ballet outfit was supposed to be for her ballet lessons in two weeks but she couldn't wait to wear it even though it was kind of cold today.  Of course she does this almost every time she comes-wants to wear a dress up outfit.